Skye Daisy Ward
by louise2905
Summary: What if Skye wasn't just some Rising Tide hacker, what if she was an undercover SHIELD agent? This story follows the season 1 plotline, but in this world, May and Coulson have been married for 30 years and Skye is their daughter. Ward was picked up by Coulson, not by Garrett, and fell in love with Skye while they were teens. I've also added Mack, Hunter, and Bobbi into season 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! This is my first story on here, so I apologize for any bad writing or mistakes.

I don't own anything to do with MARVEL or Agents of SHIELD

* * *

While hacking was an entertaining hobby for Skye, being stuck in a van in an alleyway for 5 months was really pushing her patience. Any minute now a SHIELD team were coming to 'capture' her for infiltrating their systems, the same systems she created only a year prior. After 5 months away from her family, especially her recovering father, she was ecstatic to talk to them without having to go through Fury first. Although, going undercover for the Director himself did have its perks, like knowing what missions her husband was sent on and how her parents were. Her mother was staying on desk duty while her father recovered, and Grant was in Paris, the city where they had their honeymoon.

Deciding to shut all her equipment off before the team arrived for her, Skye scurried around the van. Once she was satisfied everything was off and the information she found, including on the new 'superhero, was secure, she went through how the Rising Tide hacker in her had to act while being captured. _You never know where there are cameras around here._ She decided on sarcastic but defiant, not going without a fight. That way she remained in character but still got to have some fun with the agents. Her specialist trained ears heard two pairs of footsteps heading towards the van, the team was here. _Okay, just be as annoying as possible. That way it looks like you're deflectin-_

Her inner monologue was cut short as the door opened. There stood the two people she would have never guessed to be there. All she wanted to do was run at them and give them the biggest hug she possibly could, but those stupid street cameras. All she had to do was remain in character until the car, then they were in for it.

"Hey, what up?" With that came the bag over her head like she was expecting as her husband pulled her towards him. Agent Coulson just turned from the van and started towards their SHIELD issued car.

"Ok Agent Ward, in the car she goes." Maintaining her act, Skye struggled around before being gently pushed into the car. As soon as the doors were closed, the bag was ripped off her head and the handsome face of her husband appeared. Still too shocked to speak, she simply threw her arms around him just enjoying the fact that Grant was in her arms after 5 long months.

"I don't care how old you are, how trained you are or how long you've been gone, put your damn seatbelt on Skye!"

"Sorry, Dad." Moving back to her seat and putting her seatbelt on, Skye finally asked the one question on her mind since she saw them. "What the hell guys! How did you get to be the ones to grab me?" Grant let his father-in-law answer as he was the one in charge.

"While you were undercover the doctors gave me the all-clear to go back into the field. Fury felt guilty still so he gave me a bus and the chance to handpick a team of agents to go on specialized missions. Really a win-win for me. So, your mother is the pilot and second in command on the bus. I picked two scientists, Fitz and Simmons, they are quite remarkable. I also picked Agents Mackenzie and Hunter, Bobbi is still undercover but will be assigned to the team once she is extracted. Grant here is our mission coordinator, my team leader in the field, and of course your partner. Finally, my communications specialist and my other team leader in the field, you. Our first mission was to capture a high ranking Rising Tide hacker from a van in Los Angeles."

"The others don't know you're an agent, or that we're married. To avoid suspicion from any Rising Tide, we should keep up the ruse until you decide to come on board as a consultant after seeing the good SHIELD is doing. But I promise we can tell the team everything after, you can even make it a game if you want. I know how much you love messing with people babe." After relaying the information to Skye, Grant spots the airfield. "Ok, so once we get close the bag has to go back on and we'll bring you up to the interrogation room, Papa bear here is going to stick me with a 'truth serum' to get me to share secrets to make you trust us, aka some time to ourselves. Thanks for that by the way."

"Least I could do for you, son. Although, remind me to never use that room again."

"Then we'll convince you to join forces with SHIELD, then blah blah blah." The Bus was finally in sight so the bag went back over Skye's head.

* * *

Back on the bus, Agent May was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the three people she calls family, although unknown to the rest of the team. Coulson and May had always kept their relationship private, especially after Skye was born. It had worked well for them for roughly 30 years, and their daughter had followed in their footsteps with her marriage to Grant Ward. Melinda May was known as one of SHIELD's best agents and had picked up the name "The Cavalry" through her time, but Melinda Coulson was known as a loving wife and the World's Best Mother, according to Skye and Grant. For as long as her two lives were separate, she was damn glad to have her family all together as a team.

Everyone on the Bus was quiet, awaiting the result of their first mission. Fitz-Simmons were in the lab in the cargo bay, Mack and Hunter were playing cards on the lounge, and May was cleaning her quarters as she was free to be in the same room as her husband after all was revealed to the team. Her quarters were considered Skye and Grant's but he had stayed in similar bunks to the rest of the agents until Skye was brought in.

The girl with a bag over her head being dragged up the ramp was not who Fitz-Simmons pictured as the highly dangerous hacker they were sent for, but not all danger was physical they guessed. Agent Ward pulled her right past them and into the interrogation room without a word, as usual, while Agent Coulson went to gather the other agents and explain the situation. Once everyone was gathered in the lab Coulson has what information he could on Skye's undercover alias.

"This girl is a highly skilled hacker who was able to hack into our files from a van in an alleyway. Ward is currently interrogating her, hopefully, she'll crack and provide us with the information on our mystery superhero. As of right now, she is considered an asset that could potentially be useful to us in future missions, so she needs to see that we aren't the bad guys here. While that's happening, Mack and Fitz-Simmons, go to the explosion site and find what you can that can tell us what went down there." Coulson glanced over his team to make sure they understood before turning on his heels towards the interrogation room, only looking back to nod too May. Understanding her husband completely, May ushered everyone up the stairs to where the monitor showed Skye and Grant staring down each other.

As soon as Coulson walked into the interrogation room it was showtime.

"You guys are making a big mistake! My team will come for me. You can't silence us!"

"We simply want information on the new superhero that we know you have. But why would you give us that, right? We're the bad guys in your eyes. So, how about we show you that we aren't." Coulson holds up a fake needle towards Grant. "This here is truth serum", Coulson sticks Grant with the needle straight through his sleeve rather than his arm. "Don't trust us, ask him anything you like. You have about an hour before the effects wear off. Oh, did that hurt?" Grant grunts in pain holding his arm as Coulson walks out the door.

"No, it didn't! You don't do that to another member of your team! And yes, it did hurt, but I try to mask my pain in front of beautiful women." This made Skye smirk, of course, her husband would find a way to flirt with her during an interrogation. She proceeded to ask general questions to convince the others she was genuinely questioning him. Grant's phone beeped and smiles graced both their faces. Their act was over, for an hour at least. Skye was in his lap holding him so tight he could barely breathe. A feeling of contentment washed over the couple as the five long months were finally over. Skye kissed her husband like he was her lifeline, which in many ways he was. They stopped once oxygen was necessary. Grant stared at his wife of three years refusing to believe that it wasn't a dream. She was here, with him, with her parents, all on the same team indefinitely.

"God, I missed you, Skye. I know it wasn't a high-risk op but I still worried every night. If it wasn't for your parents and Fury constantly sending me on missions, I would have gone crazy." Skye laughed picturing her husband pacing around their apartment.

"I'm here now and I'm ok, I promise." Bringing her hands up to hold his face, she stared right into his eyes silently conveying that she was ok now. That was their thing after every mission they went on without each other. Both needing reassurance. After some time just holding each other, Skye decided it was time to put their hour to use. "Well Mr. Ward, I have an hour with you and no one to disturb us. So how about we do some catching up, after all, it has been a long five months."

"I like the way you think Mrs. Ward."

Meanwhile, having switched off the screen showing Skye and Grant just before sending Grant a message, Coulson turned to his team who were complaining about him ruining their fun.

"In this team, we respect privacy. We don't know what Agent Ward will be asked and we will respect that anything he says will be between him and the girl, Skye, not with the whole team. Mack, Fitz-Simmons, gear up. Hunter, try not to break anything." A chorus of groans was heard as the team went their separate ways, following the instructions of the Agent.

* * *

An hour later, Fitz-Simmons were in the lab going over everything they found on their little excursion, Mack was beating Hunter in a video game, and Coulson and May were quietly chatting in the kitchen. Fitz noticed Agent Ward walk past. _He must be finished with the interrogation._

"How did the interrogation go Ward? Any top secrets spilled?" Ward rolled his eyes as he quickly finished tucking his shirt in.

"Just the basics. It's not like I haven't trained for it. I'll inform the team of the information she is willing to give us." With that, he sprinted up the stairs notifying everyone he was finished.

The team gathered in the briefing room while Ward relayed the fake information about Skye. He faced the team, going into Agent Ward mode, as his wife would call it.

"This girl's name is Skye and she's willing to provide some information. Our mystery hero is Mike Peterson. He is part of a project called Centipede. Skye has been tracking Mike since the incident, but her computers are encrypted to the alleyway where we picked her up. We need to get her and her van back there if we want to know where he is but sir, I don't trust her one bit." Ward walked out to get Skye.

"Well we need that information, so, May escort Skye to her van. Fitz-Simmons, do you have anything for us?"

"Not yet sir, but we're working on it. The footage we recovered is grainy and the audio is shot but with a bit more work we should have a clearer picture of what happened."

"What if you have some audio." Everyone turned to Ward and Skye standing in the doorway. "I mean I was recording surveillance at the time of the explosion. I can send through the video when I send the other information." Of course, his daughter was there at the time of the explosion.

"Yeah, that would be helpful, thanks." The two scientists rushed down to the lab to finish going through the information before Skye sends through her information.

"Skye, Agent May will take you to your van, and whatever you do, don't try to escape. It's pointless really." May and Skye left the room, leaving the four male agents. "Hunter, go keep an eye out for any media footage of Mike Peterson. Let me know if anything comes up. Mack, go prepare to roll out. As soon as we know where Mike Peterson is, we are taking him in."

"Sir why do I have to do the boring job? Can't one-half of the science nerds, do it?" Instead of answering, Coulson turned to Ward as Mack dragged a complaining Hunter out of the room.

"My daughter really likes to mark her territory. Yeah, I'm never using that interrogation room again." Grant fixed his shirt to hide the hickey he didn't know Skye gave him. He is so getting her back for that later.

"Come on Papa bear, you know you and Mama bear love us." Coulson couldn't hide his smile at the nicknames his rookie and son-in-law had come up with 10 years ago.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's see how Fitz-Simmons are going." The two wandered down to the lab where Fitz was running around the cargo hold with a remote in his hand.

"Ah, Sir, Ward, with the audio Skye sent us we've managed to recreate the lab just before the explosion." Fitz pressed some buttons on his remote and a 3D image of the lab appeared in the cargo bay. The image displayed a man carrying a suitcase and a lab assistant in an argument. Fitz pointed to the man's arm. "Agent Ward, what does that look like?"

"A centipede."

"An intravenous filter for his blood to be exact. This goo, sir, very similar to the serum Dr. Erskine developed in the '40s for the- "

"Super soldiers."

"I'm reading alien metal, gamma radiation, the serum. Every known source of superpower, thrown in a blender." The cargo bay was silent as everyone comprehended Simmons's words.

"Run it back to the last point before the blast." Fitz scrolled through the footage until the blast occurred, then slowly rewound it until just before the blast. The image was now the man with cracks shining with a light covering his body. "Extremis, that's new and completely unstable. If this man was an explosive, that means Mike is too. We need to find him now. Fitz, Simmons, how can we stop this?"

"Isolate him. Remove anyone within a two-block radius."

"Or put a bullet through his brain. That will stop the irradiated metabolic process, stopping the explosion." Fitz and Simmons dropped their shoulders. Mike Peterson did not deserve this.

"We need to find a third option. One that doesn't leave his son without a father, and we need it now."

"He has Skye." Everyone turned to where May just entered. "He knocked me unconscious then took Skye in her van. When I came to they were in the wind." Ward stalked up the stairs passing Hunter to grab his rifle. This guy is explosive and has his wife. Not that she can't handle herself, but his protective side wants to do anything that will keep her safe.

Back downstairs Coulson and May were having a hushed conversation while Fitz-Simmons scurried back to the lab to find a way to stop the explosion.

"That man knocked me against a wall, took my daughter, but worst of all, he has his son with him. That poor kid. We need to find them quick."

"Was Skye wearing her wedding ring?" May had no doubt her daughter was wearing her ring on a chain, as she always does. Turning to head up the stairs, the distressed parents almost ran into their son-in-law who was heading to the SHIELD issued car, with Mack and Hunter following. He'd already tracked Skye using her wedding ring. Both parents moved straight to the car without a word. Coulson paused right before getting in the car.

"Hunter come with us. Mack, stay with Fitz-Simmons. Come to Union Station once you've come up with a solution." The four moved into the car. May driving, Coulson in the passenger seat and, Ward and Hunter in the back. The car reversed down the cargo bay as the doors lowered, speeding off as soon as tires hit the ground.

"How do we know exactly where she is?" Ward had already anticipated Hunter's question, so he beat his in-laws to answer.

"Where would you go if people know who you are and are looking for you? You can't stay, so you go. Can't use a passport because that'll give away your identity so where do you go?"

"Union Station."

"Exactly." Coulson secretly smiled, proud of his rookie.

* * *

At Union Station, Skye was stuck in her van with Mike and his son, deleting their identities. She knew he could possibly blow, she saw the glow illuminating his face as soon as it started. Skye Ward was not one of the best SHIELD agents for nothing. But, she wasn't leaving Ace while Mike could blow. Save the kid at all costs. Skye knew her team was on their way. Grant would've used the tracker embedded in her wedding ring. They both have trackers in their wedding rings, so the other can track them in an emergency.

"There, all done." Skye risked a glance at Ace, just to make sure he was ok.

"OK Ace. This nice lady is going to help us start a new life. Remember, I'm gonna give you a better life. One where we don't have to worry about money or anything. We're going to catch a train, you like trains."

"Mr. Peterson, good afternoon. We're not a threat, we're here to help. But you're in danger and we need to take you in." Skye's father's voice called out. Her team was here.

"What did you do!" Mike was angry. Skye noticed the glow getting stronger, she had to get Ace away. Before she could move, Mike shoved the van door towards her father, grabbed her and Ace, and ran into the station.

The station was bustling with people. She needed to get everyone away from Mike now. Skye looked around for a diversion and saw a group of guys walking near them. She moved towards them and kicked one of them right where the sun doesn't shine.

"You're right, he is a little bitch!" The group went straight for Mike, allowing Skye to slip out of his grip and take Ace away from him.

Unfortunately, Mike's super strength overpowered the group within seconds and he noticed the two were gone.

"Ace! Where are you?" Skye moved Ace towards her father so he could get him to safety. She then helped evacuate the crowd while Grant slipped behind Mike and got him in a chokehold.

"Look. The stuff inside you is dangerous. It'll kill you and everyone in here."

"Who's gonna miss us?" Mike threw Grant over his shoulders and slammed him into the ground. Seeing Grant's vulnerable state, Skye ran to a door and tried to open it as loud as possible. Mike noticed, but so did another police officer who fired at Mike when he landed behind Skye. Luckily, he missed it.

"We told them to hold fire," Grant grumbled, not liking the police firing at his wife.

"I don't think that's us." Coulson helped Grant up. Using his comm, he delegated positions to his team. "Mike is heading to the tracks. Ward, you stay high, I'll go low. Only take the shot if you have to. May, find Skye. Hunter check the perimeter, we may have a third party here." Switching his comm off, Coulson wandered over to his rookie. "Grant, only take it if you have too."

"If I have too." Everyone moved into position.

* * *

Following Skye and Mike was an easy task. May hung back while her daughter tried to negotiate with Mike.

"You need to stop. These people can help you."

"The men in suits? They're your buddies, now? Where'd they take my son?" Mike dragged Skye towards the balcony in search of Ace. In front of May, the fake police officer appeared from another doorway aiming at Mike. Showing there was still some good left in him, Mike pushed Skye aside as the bullet was lodged in his shoulder. The force knocking him over the railing down to the ground below. Before the man could aim at her daughter, May attacked him rendering him unconscious.

"You ok, baby?" Skye got up and ran to her concerned mother, hugging her tight.

"Yeah, I'm ok, Mom. I promise."

Down below, Mike emerged from the destroyed ticket booth. Coulson moved towards him carefully, placing his gun on the ground.

"You think that means anything? I know you've got men everywhere waiting to put me down. I know how this plays out."

"I don't," Coulson waited before continuing. "I know you've got poison in your system. I know it's burning you up. Mike, the last guy who wore that exploded." Refusing to believe anything come out of Coulson's mouth, Mike shook his head.

"I'm not like that other guy. I'm…" Taking a breath and looking around, Mike repeated what the doctor said to him. "It matters who I am, inside, if I'm a good person if I'm strong."

"I have a clear shot. Do you copy?" Grant's voice rang out in Coulson's ear as he tried to get Mike to cooperate.

"I know you're strong. Your boy knows it. He needs you to let us help." This only angered Mike.

"You took him! You took my wife, my job, my house." His anger was only rising as he pulled up his sleeve, revealing the centipede running along his forearm. "You think this is killing me? All over, there's people being pushed down, being robbed." Mike lifted a part of a broken column, waving it around as he spoke. "One of them tries to stand up, you got to make an example out of him."

"You bring this building down on us, will that help them?"

"That's a lie! All you do is lie!" With rage consuming him, Mike swung the broken column at the destroyed ticket booth, smashing a sign. Mike took a breath and faced Coulson, and May and Skye who had just joined him. "You said if we worked hard if we did right, we'd have a place. You said it was enough to be a man. But there's better than man. There's Gods. And the rest of us, what are we? They're giants. We're what they step on." Coulson dared a step towards Mike and stared him right in the eyes.

"I know. I've seen giants up close. And that privilege cost me. Nearly everything. But the good ones, the real deal? They're not heroes because they have what we don't. It's what they do with it. You're right, Mike. It matters who you are." As reality finally set in with Mike, Coulson let him have a moment and stayed quiet. Mike spoke up not long after Coulson stopped.

"I could, you know. Be a hero." Knowing Mike was willing to cooperate, Coulson let out a breath.

"I'm counting on it." Everyone then sighed in relief, right before Mike was shot in the forehead. Simmons came rushing in as Mike fell to the ground, while Coulson, May and Skye's eyes shot to where Grant was standing with a different gun to his rifle with Fitz and Mack. Simmons checked Mike to ensure he won't explode then gave everyone a look of relief. A team of paramedics came in to take Mike. The team all came together, feeling hopeful for the future. Hunter gave Fitz a slap on the back, while Mack gave Simmons a hug. May and Coulson gave Grant a proud smile, and Skye just glanced over her team, reassuring herself they were all fine.

* * *

Once they all returned to the bus, Coulson reported to Agent Hill about the events that just took place, then took Skye to drop Ace to family. The team decided a movie night was in order after their adrenaline-filled day. May and Ward were excited to reveal the secret to the team once Coulson and Skye came back. Fitz and Mack were preparing dinner, Simmons was grabbing blankets and pillows for the movie night, Hunter was setting the table and May was preparing the bus for take-off. Coulson and Skye arrived a short while later, and once everyone was in a secure seat, the bus took off. May set the controls to autopilot and walked to the only seat left at the table, conveniently between Coulson and Skye.

As everyone was eating Skye squeezed Grant's hand and glanced over to her parents nodding to them. That was her way of saying it was time.

"Ok everyone, I would like to properly introduce Skye to the team. This is Agent Skye. She was undercover with the Rising Tide for five months to infiltrate the servers and plant bugs to inform us of their whereabouts. Our first mission was not to capture a Rising Tide hacker, but to extract an agent from undercover." All eyes were on Skye now, which she knew would happen. She also knew some of the questions about to be asked but, before she could answer Hunter asked anyway.

"Wait isn't Skye your first name, why don't you go by your last name like literally every other agent?" Skye pulled her necklace with her wedding ring out on display.

"Both my parents are high-level agents and my mom uses her maiden name, so that cancels out two names. And you know that it's hard to have two agents with the same last name. I'm also married, but again my husband is a high-level agent, so I'm just Agent Skye. Cleared it with Fury himself."

"So, wait, what's your actual name then?" This brought a smile to her face. She was extremely proud of her name.

"Skye Daisy Ward, previously Coulson." The rest of the table's jaws dropped, while Skye just smiled and snuggled into Grant's arm. They all kept looking between Coulson, Ward and Skye. Fitz noticed May was not in shock like the others.

"Why aren't you shocked May? The infamous Agent Coulson has a daughter and she's married to the scariest agent since Romanoff."

"Hey, I'm not that scary." Skye giggled as she watched her husband defend himself. Everyone else was waiting for her mother's answer.

"Why would I be shocked that my husband of 30 years has a daughter, who I carried for nine months by the way, or that my beautiful daughter is married to the man I've loved as a son almost as long as I've known him."

"Aww Mom, you're the sweetest." Skye jumped up and gave her mother a hug. The other four were frozen in shock. May and Coulson were married. Skye was their daughter, who was married to Ward. It was a lot to process. Noticing Skye waited until everyone had finished their dinner before allowing the announcement, got everyone's attention.

"I think it's time for movie night to begin then." That snapped the four out of their frozen state. Skye and May cleared the plates, Hunter and Fitz raced to the lounges to secure the best spots. The rest slowly made their way to the lounge area. Once dinner was cleaned up, Skye and May joined their husbands and settled in for the first movie. Skye leaned into Grant and whispered,

"I'm so glad to be home." Grant turned his head towards his wife.

"You've only been on the bus a day, babe." Skye just shook her head softly.

"You're my home Grant. I don't care where we are in the world, if I'm with you, I'm home."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for those who have read my story. I honestly didn't think anyone would, hence why I haven't updated. I'm sorry for the slow updates but I will try to get more frequent updates. This one's a flashback. I'm going to do every second chapter as a flashback so you can learn the whole story of my Skyeward. I will very loosely follow the show's timeline but it will be still quite different. I will use some of the plots but the team dynamic will be a bit different as there are more characters and different character relationships.**

**As always, I don't own anything MARVEL, even if I really wish I did.**

**FLASHBACK - February 2003**

"There's someone here to see you."

Grant was confused. No one came to see him. His family hated him, he didn't have any friends and his lawyer wasn't coming until just before the trial, which is still a month away. So, who would want to see him?

Upon entering the common room, Grant was shoved towards a table in the back corner. There, sat a man in a tailored suit patiently waiting for him. Once they were close enough, the man stood and held his hand out. Grant cautiously took the mystery man's hand, after all that was the polite thing to do.

The man introduced himself as Phil Coulson. After asking enough generic questions to satisfy the guards to move away from them, Phil told Grant about an agency called SHIELD, they apparently keep the world safe from aliens. _Right, because aliens are real_. Phil also talked about his military school grades, Grant was the top of his class until he snuck out.

"I know you go to trial in a month. I also know your brother wants you to try as an adult. You're not a bad person Grant, you just acted out of rage and, after reading some of your interviews, you had a lot of anger towards your brother. So, I'm here to offer you a chance. Take it and you come with me today, out of here and to my home. You'll live with me and my family, we'll help you become a good man. Once you're 18, you can go to the SHIELD academy and train to be an agent. I know you can be a good man Grant, you just need the right guidance."

Grant was shocked. This man, who he'd only just met, was giving him a chance, a real chance to escape and live a good life. A way to escape his family and maybe be part of a new one. He wanted to jump out of his chair and hug the guy but doubt clouded his thoughts.

"Are you sure? You actually want to take me away from here. They say I'm dangerous, that I shouldn't be around others." Grant's concerns only assured Phil he'd made the right choice in taking a chance on this boy.

"The fact that you are concerned for everyone else's safety proves you have a good heart, Grant. If you come with me today, I will do everything I can to give you a happy life." Grant looks directly into Phil's eyes and gives him a single nod. A smile graces Phil's face.

"Grab any belongings they let you have and meet me back here."

"I don't have anything worth taking with me."

"Well then just stay here and I'll go fill out the paperwork." Before Phil leaves the table, he turns to Grant. "Knowing my daughter, you will already have a room full of stuff when we get home." Grant's eyes widen and Phil just chuckles as he walks out of the room.

Once everything was sorted, Phil and Grant simply walked out of the juvenile facility, much to Grant's surprise.

"Shouldn't they have stopped us? I mean, it can't have been that easy!" Grant eyes every security guard waiting for them to pounce on him.

"Why should they? You're a free man."

They both get into Coulson's standard-issue SHIELD car and drive off.

* * *

After the drive to New York from Massachusetts, Grant felt safe with Phil. He knew he made the right choice. They pull up to a big house just outside of New York City.

"Here's your new home. I'm apologizing now for my daughter, she gets very excited over new people." With that, Phil grabbed his suitcase from the back seat and headed towards the front door. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my family." Grant quickly followed the man through the door and into a wide-open foyer with two people waiting excitedly. Phil stops and allows Grant to stand next to him before he introduces him to the two new people.

Phil gestures to the woman wearing a kind smile.

"This is my wife, Melinda." The woman walks up to Grant and gives him a gentle hug.

"I'm so glad you decided to stay with us, Grant. I promise we will take care of you and show you a true, loving family." Phil then turns to the girl around Grant's age who was practically jumping up and down.

"And this is our daughter, Skye." Phil steps away from Grant as Skye races towards him. Grant tenses, preparing for the impact. It comes not a second later in the form of a tight hug from the girl. Skye releases Grant and beams up at him with a radiant smile.

"Hi, Grant! I'm Skye. You're really tall, or I'm really short. Maybe it's a mix of both."

"Skye honey, calm down. He's going to be here for another two years. You'll have plenty of time to talk and I'm sure Grant just wants to go see his room and relax." Phil and Melinda share a look at their daughter's antics, but allow Skye to drag poor Grant up the elaborate stairs.

Upstairs was a maze of doorways, and Skye's tour was only slightly helpful. Grant knew where the bathroom, his room, and Skye's room were since it was right next to his. When Skye opened the door to his room, his mouth dropped. It's not like his family wasn't well off. The size of the room wasn't what surprised him, it was the design of the room. This was a teenage boy's room, a room full of comfy furniture and personal touches, not a half-empty room void of any life like his old room, not a small bunk like his room at military school, and definitely nothing like his cell he had slept in the previous night. This room was meant for Grant. At that point, he knew that was to be his life. A life where he had a room that without a doubt was his, and only his.

Sitting on the mahogany desk was a simple photo frame. Upon closer inspection, Grant found it was a picture of a smiling Skye.

"You needed some pictures in here, and I know that seeing someone smile makes you smile. So, if you're feeling sad you can look over to my picture and then you'll smile. Obviously you can replace it with your own photos. You don't need a photo of me. We only just met. Don't worry, I'll take it out now. It's weird." Skye's movements towards the photo frame were stopped by Grant who refused to look at her directly, suddenly shy.

"Uh, I like the smile idea, and I don't have any photos to replace it with anyway." This brought a soft smile to Skye's face. Skye then left Grant to explore his new room. The closet was partially full, Melinda and Phil not wanting to buy too much without Grant's opinion. The couple stopped in to check Skye hadn't scared Grant too bad. He just chuckled and assured them she was fine.

* * *

A few hours passed, and after a surprisingly fun dinner together, the family and their latest addition retired to their bedrooms for the night. Grant relaxed into the comfortable bed and went over the last 24 hours. This morning he woke up in his cell thinking it was going to be a normal day of waiting before the trial, then this man offered him a new start at life. The only request was to be a good person, even that he had help with. It all sounded too good to be true, but here he is in a soft bed with a new family who are kind and fun. His only wish was that he would have found Phil sooner. That man put his whole faith in Grant, and Grant was not going to let him down, he vowed right there just before he fell asleep.

The night was fine until Skye woke up to someone crying out in their sleep. She knew it wasn't her parents but it took a second to realize it was Grant, the handsome boy who had just moved in with them. She shot out of bed and crept into the hallway. Slowly opening his door, Skye slid in and headed to the boy tossing around in his bed. Knowing that she had to calm him down, she sat gently on the bed and pushed the hair stuck to his forehead.

"Hey, Grant. Grant, it's Skye. You need to wake up. I promise you it's only a dream. You're safe." Grant's breathing sped up until he suddenly gasped, eyes wide open darting around. "Hey, hey Grant. You're safe. You're in your new house remember. No one can get you here. They'll have to go through me first." Finally, Grant looked at Skye and calmed down. Sweat beads lined his hairline.

"I, I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll try to keep it down next time. I'm sorry." Skye just shook her head, she didn't care about her precious sleep. She cared about him.

"Are you ok? You were so scared that I was scared for you. You were flinching in your sleep. If someone hurt you, I promise they can't now. You have Mom, Dad, and me of course. I'll help you fight, we can do it together." Never before has Grant had someone be willing to help him fight the demons that plague his sleep since he could remember. He only met Skye that day, and yet she had done more for him than anyone in his life. She was willing to protect him for something she had no idea of. So in a moment of complete vulnerability, he told her, almost everything. He told her about Christian beating him and his little brother, Thomas, about his parent's forcing him to keep up the appearance of a perfect family, about the day he finally stood up to Christian only to be sent to military school, about Tommy's death and the events that followed his funeral, including the fire that landed him in juvie. Grant also told Skye about the good times, like Gramsy and helping her bake cookies with Tommy, and holidays in his early childhood before times were bad. They talked for a few hours about their lives before they met each other until both could barely keep their eyes open. Skye reluctantly got up and began her journey next door, but Grant, despite knowing who wrong it was, softly called out for her to stay.

"Please." As if she was waiting for a reason to stay, Skye quickly turned around and got into bed with Grant. The light emitting from the lamp was soon shut off and both fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning Melinda went to wake Grant only to find two bodies cuddled together. Noticing the dried tear streaks down Grant's face, she smiled to herself proud of her daughter for comforting the boy. She also knew these two would be inseparable pretty soon, it was fate.


End file.
